What exactly is sleep...

[Sonrisa]

reading a medical report:

we now know that our brains are very active during sleep and a variety of nerve signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters control whether we are asleep or awake by acting on different groups of neurons. the brainstem produces neurotransmitters including seratonin and norepinephrine that can keep certain parts of the brain active while we are asleep. other neurons tend to switch off signals that keep us awake. current research indicates that adenosine builds up in our blood while we are awake and causes drowsiness and that when we sleep this chemical gradually breaks down.

do we really need sleep to survive? i read a book along time ago about a philosopher who refused to sleep. not sure if it was Rousseau.

[sparkle_jello]

I don't know much about sleep; however, I have been trying to control my dreams for a while. I have been successful on some occasions, but fail far more than succeed.
I think it's called lucid dreaming, where you take control of your dreams. I tried this starting as a teenager because I felt my life sucked and figured that by doing this I could create an escape. The weird thing is, with lucid dreaming you are supposed to have full control over your dreams, but I only have partial control. For example, I can't always change the setting of the dream (sometimes I can), but I know I'm dreaming, and can control my actions.
I feel that lucid dreaming can be an amazing tool for people. If done right you can essentially do whatever you want, and your body and mind actually feel like they are doing it. You can have sex with anyone you desire, go explore your childhood home, etc.

[Sonrisa]

i am not sure i believe in lucid dreaming. i believe in LSD though.

[sparkle_jello]

I have never had LSD, but I assure you, lucid dreaming is real. I haven't been able to do everything I've read about it, but I've definitely tapped into the potential.

[IncognitoSir]

I'm pretty sure you NEED sleep. Blood pressure slows down, heart rate slows, metabolism slows......yeah your heart definitely needs the rest from sleep.

[Sonrisa]

i am not so sure about heart rate though.

[sparkle_jello]

i am not so sure about heart rate though.

Heart rate is supposed to go down, even your body temperature does.

[asdfg789]

i only do it for the wet dreams

[Lipp]

I think I'm having the same kind of 'lucid dreams' that sparkle is speaking of, but where did you hear that you could control it? Seen Inception one time too many?

It's more that you are aware of that you're dreaming and can choose to stop it and wake up whenever rather than controlling it.
Also, at least in my case and I reckon many others, the dreams tend to be pretty strictly realistic.

[Mish]

do we really need sleep to survive?

And just when I was starting to think this was something serious

[Gribble]

I've controlled my dreams to a limited extent before. On more than one occasion I've caught on that I was in the midst of a nightmare. Paused mid-flight from the big bad monster, willed a shotgun into my hands and unleashed fiery justice on its ass. Unfortunately, while shotguns and assault rifles sprout from the ether with minimal effort, I've yet to get hot chicks to appear. Believe me, I have tried.

[Chlorine]

do we really need sleep to survive?

Sonrisa-----Heehee, definitely.

The surest way to break someone is to deprive them of sleep.

[Sonrisa]

this topic has been controlling my life lately. i have not been getting much sleep since my new upstairs neighbors moved in and my sleep depends on them. if they watch tv, listen to music, have conversations - i am hearing it all. and when they walk, well, my windows shake. don't know how long i can take it.

[Only-virgins]

Yes, we need sleep. I happen to like sleeping. The conscious mind uses this time to take out the trash and organize the memories of the day.

[doppelgaenger]

I'm quite often sleep deprived and I don't have a consistent sleeping schedule. I'll tell you, after 3 days, you start to feel ill, 4 days you become very paranoid and shifty, 5 days you become delusional and start hallucinating. Despite feeling exhausted, after 5 days it's really hard to fall asleep. If I went any longer, I'd probably go insane.

Sleeping is a period of regeneration; that's why doctors tell you to rest a lot when your sick. It's pretty important.